Prof Bernard Acquah Obeng

Department

Business Management

Professor Obeng is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management and Head of GIMPA Hub for Teaching and Learning, former Head of Business Management Department at the GIMPA Business School. He was an International Faculty, Mona School of Business and Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Jamaica, an International Research Fellow at the Open University Business School, UK and Bournemouth University Business School, Bournemouth, UK. His research interests are in the fields of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.

Professor Obeng has published papers in international journals such as Small Business Economics, International Small Business Journal, Journal of Rural Studies, Journal of Small Business Management. He has also presented papers at reputable international conferences such as International Council for Small Business, British Academy of Management, Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, USASBE Conference, International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD) and Research in Entrepreneurship (RENT) Conference. Professor Obeng Co-Chaired 14^th IAABD Conference and won Best Conference Chair Award and was also the recipient of SMEGA 2014 Best SME Researcher Award. Professor Obeng has been previously involved in PhD Supervision at University of the West Indies, Mona School of Business and Management, Mona, Jamaica, and he is currently supervising two doctoral students at the GIMPA Business School.

Professional affiliations

2020-Present CCSBE Member
2011-Present USASBE Member
2013-Present Academy of African Business and Development (AABD)
2013-Present International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
2007-2008 British Academy of Management

PhD, Durham University, UK,
Cert. in Research Methods, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK
MBA, Frederick University, Nicosia, Cyprus
BCom, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Ed, University of Cape Coast

Immigrant Entrepreneurship
Family Business and Succession Planning
Business advice and networks
Innovation and growth in small firms
Enterprise education in the informal sector
Social entrepreneurship

Date (2012 – 2014)

Project Name: The Association of African Business Schools (AABS)/GIMPA Agribusiness Consortium (AAC) is an initiative of AABS with the objective of promoting management education and training in the agribusiness sector of Africa.

Sponsor: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, (USD 87,235.00)

Winner Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Ghana Awards, 2014 Best SME Researchers’ Award (September, 2015).
14^th International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD) Annual Conference Co-Chair, 14^TH -18^TH May, 2013, GIMPA, Accra-Ghana
14^th IAABD Annual Conference Track Chair Service Award
14^th IAABD Annual Conference Exceptional Local Organising Committee Service Award
International Research Fellowship Award, Open University Business School, Milton Keynes, UK.
Best GIMPA Business School Faculty (2011/12 Academic Year) Award
Best GIMPA Business School Faculty (2009/10 Academic Year) Award

Peer reviewed book chapters

Bernard A. Obeng, Richard K. Blundel and Ahmed Agyapong (2012) ‘Enterprise education for small artisanal businesses: A case study of Sokoban Wood Village, Ghana’, In Mai Thi Thanh Thai and Ekaterina Turkina, Entrepreneurship in the Informal Economy: Models, Approaches and Perspectives for Economic Development.

Peer reviewed journal articles

Antwi Bosiakoh, T., and Obeng, B. A. (2021). Socio and ethno-cultural embeddedness of transnational Nigerian immigrant entrepreneurs in Ghana. Comparative Migration Studies, 9(1), 1-17.

Obeng, B. A. (2019). Strategic networking and small firm growth in an emerging economy. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 26(1), 43-66.

Anderson, A and Obeng, BA, (2017). Enterprise as socially situated in a rural poor fishing community, Journal of Rural Studies, 49: 23-31.

Obeng, Bernard and Blundel, Richard (2015), ‘Evaluating enterprise policy interventions in Africa: a critical review of Ghanaian small business support services’, .Journal of Small Business Management, 53 (2): 416-435.
Obeng, B.A., Robson, P.J.A., and Haugh, H. M. (2014), ‘Strategic Entrepreneurship and Small Firm Growth in Ghana’, International Small Business Journal, 32 (5): 501-524.
Robson, P.J.A., Haugh, H.M. and Obeng, B.A. (2009), ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Ghana: Enterprising Africa’, Small Business Economics, 32: 331-350.
Robson, P.J.A. and Obeng, B.A. (2008), ‘The Barriers to Growth in Ghana’, Small Business Economics, 30: 385-403.

Peer reviewed conference papers

Ofori-Dankwa, J. and Obeng, Bernard Acquah (2023), Integrating Institutional Theory and Social Exchange Perspective: A Framework for Review of Literature on Family Businesses Succession Planning in Africa , 6th International Family Business Research Forum, ,American University of Sharjah, UAE, October, 24-26, 2023
Obeng, Bernard Acquah (2023) Understanding the SME Ecosystem in Ghana: Academic Training and Promotion of Enterprise Development, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) Conference, Lancaster Hotel Kumasi, 10^th October, 2023.
Obeng, Bernard Acquah, Antwi-Bosiako, Thomas, and Saffu, Kojo (2020) Immigrant entrepreneurship in the 21^st Century: A systematic literature review for charting the way forward, CCSBE 2020 Virtual Conference, 16-17 October, 2020.
Obeng, B. A (2017) An Empirical study of entrepreneurship in private and public sector organisations: Some evidence from Ghana, 2017 USASBE Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, 19-22 January, 2017.
Obeng, Bernard Acquah and Gameti, Daniel Komla (2016) Strategic Orientation of High-growth SMEs under Stable and Unstable Economic Conditions in Ghana, an Emerging Economy, 61 ICSB World Conference, NJ/NY, June 15-18.
Obeng, B. A. and Anderson, A (2016) ‘Embeddedness, Resource Constraint, and Entrepreneurship Practice: The Case of two African Villages’, 2016 USASBE Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, 9-12 January, 2016.
Obeng, B. A. (2014) ‘The Social Constraints in Entrepreneurship in a rural Ghanaian Fishing Community’, 15^th International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD), The University of the West Indies, Barbados, May 26-29, 2014.
Obeng, B. A. (2013) ‘Networks and Firms’ strategic Orientations in Africa’, 58^th International Council for Small Business, Ponce Hilton Golf and Casino Resort, Puerto Rico.
Obeng, B. A. (2012) ‘Re-thinking Enterprise Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Three Cases from Ghana, Open University Business School International Research Fellowship Seminar, Michael Young Building, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Obeng, B. A. and Blundel, R. (2012) ‘Enterprise education for small artisanal businesses: A case study of Sokoban Wood Village, Ghana’, Academy of Management Conference, Professional Development Workshop, Boston, August 3-7, 2012.
Obeng, B. A. (2011) ‘The Determinants of Small Firm Growth in Ghana’, Whiteman School of Management 2^nd Conference on “Entrepreneurship in Africa”, Syracuse University, New York.

Email: bacquah-obeng@gimpa.edu.gh

Office Number: Mamphey Hall H104